A Change Is Gonna Come

“Change is not inevitable or impossible; it requires imagination to picture how thing might be, as well as courage and tenacity to work to make the imagined a reality.”

Blurb: “Featuring top Young Adult authors alongside a host of exciting new talent, this anthology of stories and poetry from BAME writers on the theme of change is a long-overdue addition to the YA scene.”

*This book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

Diversity is a topic that constantly comes up in conversation in the book world. With a push to get more diverse voices out there both on the writing side and the industry side, and with the successes of new YA books like The Hate U Give, it really does feel like change is on the way.

A Change Is Gonna Come is a Young Adult anthology aiming to give voices to those who have “historically had their thoughts, ideas and experiences oppressed.” The overarching theme is change and contributors are from various BAME backgrounds. Well-known writers such as Nikesh Shukla (The Good Immigrant) and Patrice Lawrence (Orangeboy) have made contributions along with many fantastic debuts. When speaking to one of the latter, Aisha Bushby she talked about how Nikesh Shukla is wary of diversity becoming a marketing trend. She agrees and said that while diversity is important, she doesn’t want that aspect to detract from the quality of the stories.

My personal favourites from this collection are as follows:

“Marionette Girl” by Aisha Bushby tells the story of a girl with OCD who lives her life confined by time. This one is great for anyone who loves Harry Potter references. (Trigger warning for OCD and Anxiety)

“Hackney Moon” by Tanya Byrne is the story of how a same sex relationship falls apart over time. The writing is so poetic and beautiful that it reminded me of the writing style in The Book Thief.

“We Who?” by Nikesh Shukla showcases the breakdown of a friendship after the Brexit result of the referendum. It addresses the idea of “us v them” mentality and whether it’s possible to be tolerant of different views when you are the thing wishing to be tolerated.

There are many more wonderful additions to this anthology and the book has a glossary at the back with links to helplines and research websites if you are affected by any of the stories.